New School!

So the other night we were able to go into my sons new school building. It's an old public school building.  This summer someone decided to set fire to the old building his school had and completely put the whole school in a state of turmoil for over a month and a half, we were happy to see the 'new' building was ready. Arson is not a victimless crime.

After a few delays waiting while we questioned where we were going to hold the school year after the fire marshall deemed the 'old' building was not to be used this school year.  The school was offered to lease this building for $1 until the end of December. But, it needed work. A lot of work. It had been broken into, vandalized, a fire extinguisher had been set off that made a red carpeted floor an entirely different color. One would think that if the public school was going to lease a building to a non-public school they would have been good stewards and at least cleaned up the vandalism, at least take care of the broken glass. They did move some things out before they let our school have the keys. 

The way it works here is that every student in the state gets money to go to school. Its per student, so if a parent wants to send their child to a private school or even homeschool, they don't have access to that money. A lot of money is moved around between public schools, because students can open enroll between districts. But that money is kept in public schools. So if my local public school gets $6k for my child, the school that he attends sees none of that money. I wish Iowa had vouchers, so I could dictate where that money goes. Now multiply that by roughly 100 students or so, and the school would be in better shape financially. I would love it if the school could pay our teachers what their public school peers get. Tuition is kept low, so that most families can afford it. (we pay a little more than $200/month). That's less expensive than most private schools in the state. For us, its less eating out, doing less activities for the kids and picking up odd jobs when we need to. Its a choice we made a long time ago, not to put our child in public school. He does amazing at this school, classroom sizes are small- he has 13 in his class this year! He has friends that he's known since preschool and kindergarten. He looks up to the older kids, because they are loving on him and leaning on Jesus!

I wasn't able to get in and take before photos, but the 'after' is amazing. This is a neighborhood school, so set among houses that sell anywhere from $40k -$110k.
The school has had volunteers do so much work. Plumbers, electricians, fencing professionals, contractors, painters, cleaners, parents, students, and volunteers with no family ties to the school. But the community has come together in an amazing way.
School was delayed by a week, and there still is the problem of the boiler doesn't work and there isn't a playground. Detail, details. Here in Iowa the school probably has about a good month and a half to get the boiler working, or a new one put in.

The teraazo floors are amazing, most of the classrooms have lockers outside in the hallway. I still haven't found the library, or been upstairs to the second floor or downstairs to the lunch room. Give me a few more weeks and I'll be taking photos when I'm back on my feet.
The great thing about having this building is that everyone is still together, we just have more space. We were using all of the rooms in the other building, and were almost ready to grow out of it.

The school was able to have the curriculum we use professionally cleaned. I'm glad they did thus, because I honestly love the Abekka curriculum that they use!

One thing that was missing from all of the classrooms were computers. I'm positive the smoke would have damaged what few computers they had. Especially having to be shut in a closed building for so many weeks after the fire. Hopefully computers will come soon in this technology driven age!

The fire happened the night of August 5th.
School start date - September 4th - original date
School start date - September 12th - actual date

Our school isn't regulated by the state to keep students in for 180 days or whatever it is now. Its kind of nice not having to start until after Labor Day and ending before Memorial Day! Of the 4 years my son has attended this school, he's never had to attend school in June.

Note: I have no ill feelings toward parents who choose to send their children to public school. I worked in the public school system for 6 years. I have lots of friends who teach in the public school. Hubby and I just realized that when homeschooling wasn't going to work, this was the next best thing.  

I truly think of my child's school not as a building, but the students, volunteers and parents, teachers and staff as family. We are all united in Christ and focused on encouraging the growth of the children to be the leaders in the community. There was at one time over 20 some churches represented in the school. That says so much about the school. For some reason, the school can unite what the churches in town  cannot do.

It's going to be a great year!

Ps. If you want to know more about the school click here.

Prayer for the school

Heavenly Father,

The only school that my oldest has ever attended had a fire last night. Thank you for neighbors who made the call and it was contained to the gym and stage area. Away from the classrooms. I need to lift up so many people in prayer right now.

I thank you, Father God for the firemen and first responders who took care of the building last night. I thank you Jesus that it wasn't super hot or humid out that they had to work extra hard in that kind of weather.

I thank you Jesus that no students or teachers were in the building at the time.
I pray for the insurance adjuster that they may be able to move quickly, so that we may start school on time. I pray that all the repairs are covered, and that this fire isn't something the school board needs to worry about.

I pray that you put the right people in the path of the school to fix the damage, so that it's better than ever and we can have our first concert on time to give You all the glory!

I pray that none of the teachers supplies were wet or damaged, they sacrifice so much for our school, and they do it all while praising You and showing our students to lean on You, Heavenly Father.

I pray for the safety of the clean up crew and the workers that they may work quickly and efficiently to be able to open the school on time, with minimal costs. I pray for the financial situation of the school and that the board shouldn't have to worry about the coat of repairs - that it will totally be covered with donations.

See You At the Flag Pole September 2015

Students praying for our school, our community, our nation.

See You At the Flag Pole September 2015

A little over 100 students attend here. 

See You At the Flag Pole September 2015

Jesus, keep the school community together in prayer and support with love, and not to idle gossip. Jesus, you have planted this school here for a reason, and you have kept it open for so long, and the students who attended here give you the glory and honor and praise for this!

Our school will come through this stronger and better than ever.

We trust that this is Your will, we don't understand it, right now, Oh God, but we know that You are in control.

Here's a video made by another parent, that includes some photos that I have taken, and the logo designed by my husband:

Honoring (Grand) Mother

Taken from my mom's blog: Mended-Vessels

To Elizabeth Gray Wells

Oct. 28, 1911-Sept. 29, 2012

Blessed were you, Mother, for you did not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But your delight was in the law of the Lord, and on his law you meditated day and night.

You were like a tree planted by streams of water, which yielded its fruit in season and whose leaf did not wither.

Whatever you did prospered.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.

Your husband had full confidence in you and lacked nothing of value.

You brought him good, not harm, all the days of your life.

You were clothed in strength and dignity; you laughed at the days to come.

You spoke with wisdom, and faithful instruction was on your tongue.

You watched over the affairs of your household and did not eat the bread of idleness.

Many women do noble things, but you surpassed them all.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

(Adapted from Psalm 1, Proverbs 31)

Written by Marie Wells Coutu

My thoughts: 

She did. She was. We call her blessed. She died one month short of her 101st birthday. 

We were able to go to the funeral- which required in 3 days: 20 hours of driving (a 10 hour trip each way), 4 states, less than 24 hours in Kentucky (half of was spent sleeping). The people who came / were there for my grandmother: one sister, one brother, 4 adult children & 4 spouses, 6 of 7 grandchildren present (2 spouses), 2 great grandchildren present of a possible 8, and one great-grand child. All celebrated one fantastic lady my grandmother: Elizabeth Wells, whom I am named for. Her full name was Sarah Elizabeth Wells, but I guess in the South everyone uses their middle name. My full name when I was born was Sarah Elizabeth Coutu (try to pronounce that last name!) 

First Day of Pre-School

The first day of school was Tuesday, September 4th.

He's going to the local Christian school, a decision that we didn't take lightly. We asked and prayed for God to provide the money for us to enroll him there. We found out there is a state grant that reduced the tuition for us by a huge amount. Something more manageable for us to handle as a family.

The best part about the local program at the Christian school is that for 4 year old students, it's all day, everyday. But he's so ready. Who was up by 6:45am that morning? Who was ready for school by 7:30am? School starts after 8am. This guy. That's who. He was so excited! He told dad "I just can't wait!" Dad asked "For what?" Little man replied "School, of course!"

I have to pack him a lunch everyday, which he ate 2 of the 5 things I sent with him the first day. He ate his mini-Oreos and his snack and cheese crackers. Guess who was hungry after school? He ate his grapes, his fruit roll-up and a piece of candy from the teacher. He ate his macaroni and cheese muffins for dinner- added with ketchup on top, of course!

 

He wanted a picture of his backpack! 

In the car, with his lunchbox. 

Running into the school. 

Going into his classroom. 

Find the printable I used at the website How Does She? Just subscribe to the mailings and you have access free printables! 

No, mommy didn't cry. Although I figured out I'm a little lonely and it's a whole lot quieter at home, now that he's in school. The funny part is when he got out of the car at school he started running into the school. He forgot his backpack and his lunch. But we made it, and he had a good first day, despite deciding to rip up his name tag during rest time. He must have taken a nap because he was full of energy when I picked him up. FULL.

Women of Faith

I have been scrimping and saving for the past 6 months in order to go to this event. I've never been to a Women of Faith, and I'm so glad I went. When I left Saturday night, my heart was so full. Full of the love of God, full of the love of my sisters, friends, and family that joined me in Wells Fargo for a day and a half of marvelous worship, speakers, and a few concerts. Lots of laughs and it felt like a bucket of tears! Blessed.

My mother-in-law said I should go, and it turned out that she wasn't able to go, so it was weird without her there, but I did not miss her breathing machine Friday night. I didn't get much sleep, but that was because I forgot my earplugs. Weird hotel room, not sleeping next to the hubby and a sister-in-law who warned me she snores. LOUD. I love her, I truly do, and I'm so thankful she has joined our family. I disliked the snoring, though. I threw 2 pillows at her sometime during the night. I told myself I was doing it in love.If she would have been sleeping in my bed, I would have kicked her.Hard. But, I'm still Blessed.

Three sisters in the Lord. Vicky, Suzi and Sarah (me). 

Our group had about 80-some ladies from 4 different states. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. I thought it was pretty cool, because in our group I could wave my one arm and two rows would all be family of some kind! Most of whom my mother-in-law invited them to come. Because she was unable to go, she was able to bless someone with a ticket, a hotel room and even a t-shirt and Saturday's lunch of someone who wouldn't been able to afford it. Blessed.

I was blessed by the speakers and bought a book for my mother-in-law, hopefully she'll enjoy the book and share it with me when she's done with it! I bought Angie Smith's book 'Broken' and even got her to sign it, and got my picture taken with her. I also bought Selah's new CD and have been listening to it (in the car, at the church) since I returned. Blessed.

Transformation

Our church has been having these 'themes' that we go through each quarter. Last quarter was Hope, this quarter it's Transformation.

Boy, make it really hard for the decorating team to decorate the nursery! What can you decorate with that up to 4 years old that has to do with Transformation?

Romans 12:2 says this: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

I'm not sure if that's our theme verse, but I thought it fit, so I made this for the nursery- it's a start. I made it blue because the carpet in there is blue. Feel free to download it, if you can use it!


Transformation

Butterflies? Plenty of places online tell me how to make Nylon butterflies. But I'm sure I don't have extra money for that. Or patience. Time, I do have.

Bugs-n-Blooms has some adorable butterflies in all different sizes, and colors. If I was thinking about having another child- which I'm not- and IF it was going to be a girl- I think I'd make a butterfly room. Absolutely love!


I am thinking about making some sort of paper craft  like this one from Project Nursery, it's a do-it-yourself project. Although I might need some help from Lisa, the craft lady who goes to our church and owns a local scrapbooking store as well!

Easter 2011

So this Easter I did all the things I normally do on Easter Sunday, get up early to attend for the life of me what I can figure is Sunrise Service at our church, but for the most part at 7 in the morning, I am not generally awake then.

This year the pastor handed me 3 nails as I sat down. Okay, that’s weird, I thought. Oh yeah, right- it’s Easter- the reason I had to get out of bed early this morning and come to church before 7am, why anybody should be awake at 7am is beyond me.

He invited us, during a special song sung by a church member to come put our nails in the bucket. I placed my nail in the bucket, and had my 3 year old place one in the bucket as well. He is not without sin, as I was able to witness later in the nursery of him getting so mad at another little boy that he was angry- so visibly angry that after he hit that poor little boy over and over again, and was told to stop by the adults, his head was vibrating back and forth in an anger motion. The only other person who I’ve seen do this, or know that this motion is done is myself. Yup, he has my temper.

The pastor later told us that it was interesting to watch us place our nails in the bucket; because as a whole handful of people came forward one by one, we placed our nails in the bucket- not dropped them as he was hoping to hear the metal cling on the metal. I guess for most of us, we’ve been raised in the church so well that we know better to make a lot of racket in the sanctuary, because it is just that: a sanctuary, sacred.

As the choir sung their songs of the story of Jesus and how he came to be crucified and rose in three days, I thought of the one nail that the pastor encouraged us to take home with us- to dwell on. Was the cross heavy? Without a doubt, and I thought of all my sins, and then I think of all the people who have been murders, rapists, robbers, but who have found Jesus- all their sins were on that cross too.

The night before I happened to be out at my mother-in-laws house, and on the History Channel was a show called The Face of Jesus. I don’t normally watch the History Channel, as we don’t really have traditional television in our house. But this kept my interest… and for two hours the show went on to talk about the shroud (or cloth) that Jesus was wrapped in and with the technology that we have today they can make and they have made a 3-dimensional model of what Jesus looked like 2,000 years ago. One of the things that they said in the show was that there was a lot of blood on the shroud - the man who was wrapped in this fabric was beaten almost to the point of death- and then the crucified him and put him on the cross. It was not a pretty picture, and yet, we see drawings and paintings of our Lord and Savior with very little blood on him, very little flesh tears, and just three holes in his body. In fact, he had much, much more. It was much worse than we could ever imagine.

If you’ve never seen the movie The Passion of the Christ, I would recommend it, if you are a believer. You will see the things that Jesus did, the things that we- as humans did to Him.

As I looked at my nail, long, round, and sharp during service this morning, I thought two things the first one I thought- “How much bigger was Jesus’ nails?” and my second thought was “How much noise must have come from Jesus when these nails went through his flesh, and all the way through his body?” I can’t even fathom the pain level; it would be off the chart. The nail that I had was machine made, manufactured in a plant somewhere in America, maybe. But Jesus’ nails where hand made, forged by a blacksmith in a way that we would call primitive in today’s terms. They were probably very long, and very large.

So this Easter, as I partook in our Church’s communion service, I took my time. I was seated in the back, so I was one of the last to receive my bread and cup- but I took my time, everyone had taken of the cup and taken the bread when they got them. But I took my time, waited until I got my bread in order to start drinking my cup. I actually dipped my bread in my cup- some people believe that this is what Jesus would have done. Saying “This is the bread, and this is my body, for which I give unto you.” And “This is my cup, which represents my body.”

What a sacrificial love that Jesus has for each of us. So, will you partake, did you partake? If so, I hope that you took the time to remember in our fast-paced World we sometimes forget why Jesus died on the cross.

I know in these next few weeks I will forget my nail- and every Sunday morning I will pull it out, ponder it and put it back in my bag. The cross was heavy- very heavy. Do you know how heavy it was? Jesus still didn’t care- He would have carried the cross if it was twice as heavy as it was. It was so heavy in fact, that he couldn’t carry it all the way up the hill- someone had to carry the cross for him. 

Easter is coming!

Although Easter isn't for almost another month, April 24, 2011 to be exact. I found these cute little bunnies here. Mine are a little different, as I didn't have any pink pompoms laying around the house. But using what I did have around, I think they turned out pretty cute! Even hubby said so! The one on the left is actually a cloth diaper from when my little boy was in diapers, it worked just as good!

 These are some of the decorations I put up earlier this week! Just a little bit of curling ribbon and some plastic eggs that have holes on the top and you have yourself the easiest Easter decoration ever! I have some individual eggs hung all over our front room, just for fun! They were fun to put together and so easy and simple!

 The ducks like to look out the window... one of my many finds at Target after Easter one year, long before I had a child- mostly for the point of my duck- themed bathroom.

Happy designing and crafting... I'm having a blast!

Like Dandelion Dust

It was hubby's birthday on Friday and he wanted to play a computer game with his brother over the internet that night, which meant no Netflix for me! That's fine, I was smart enough to have checked out this amazing movie from the public library for the week- free of charge!

I have been a fan of Karen Kingsbury for some time, as some of your know, and can't ever get enough of her books- I think I've read all of them and am waiting for the Bailey Flanigan series to come out with Leaving on March 22, 2011!

The movie is based off the book with the same title, Like Dandelion Dust. It's about a couple who adopts a little boy, but seven years later when his birth father gets out of prison and finds out about him he wants to be a father. Obviously this is devastating for his mom and dad (the adoptive parents) to have to send him to Ohio to spend time with this other couple, who might take him away forever. The only life this little boy has ever known has been with them. The mom and dad devise a plan to just disappear, like dandelion dust. The movie plays out and well, I'm not going to give the ending away, you'll just have to rent it for yourself!
I did cry during the movie, more than once! Which is why it was a perfect movie for me to watch without hubby, because he can only take so much of the 'chick flicks,' which I'm sure he didn't want to watch one of 'those' movies on his birthday.
What was really emotionally exhausting was not the movie, but the testimonies that are on the DVD. One of the testimonies was done by Karen Kingsbury, but from reading her books you kind of get an insight of what her life is like with 3 adopted children and 3 of her own children. The one that got to me...(bring out the box of tissues)... was the producer of the movie. He and his wife were adopting a little boy from Hati when the earthquake struck, they got moving and made some major phone calls and got out 80 orphans from Hati that were all in the process of being adopted and coming to the United States. It took a lot of work, but the kids are safe now, with their new parents, and it was a total God thing!
I read a few adoption blogs every now and then, one that I read regularly has been one of my college roommates, April Diaz and following her adoption story as she and her husband adopted 2 kiddos from Ethiopia.

I recently watched China's Lost Girls, a National Geographic Special with Lisa Ling, and it was very touching,
and even Christopher was watching the kids in the video- like he was interested in what they were doing.
But as Karen said on the DVD, maybe God's not leading me to adopt, or not just yet, because we are in no way financially ready- but then are you ever financially ready for a child?

But maybe God has brought you beside people who are called to adopt in order to pray for them- like my friend April who, although I know it's been such a struggle for her, wouldn't trade those two precious children in for the world! There are ups and downs with raising any and all children!

Maybe God has placed on your heart being able to financially help someone else adopt, not for us, yet.

I guess if God wants us to adopt he will open the doors and show us He wants us to do it... to take that step of faith and follow Him through it. Maybe He is showing me that, and preparing the way for my husband to follow me, although both of us know now is not the right time.

I will not leave you all alone like orphans; 

I will come back to you.  

John 14:8 NCV

So it is my prayer, one day, that we will be able to adopt either from another country, or one from our own- to give my son a brother or sister that he needs and would love! 

God is not done with our little family, 

I hope and pray to add a little girl one day!